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### The Converb of Preference (-mAktAnsa)

To express a preference for one action over another—meaning "rather than" or "instead of" doing something—Turkish combines three familiar suffixes: the infinitive (`-mAk`), the ablative case (`-tAn`), and the conditional (`-sa` / `-se`).

Since the infinitive (`-mak` or `-mek`) always ends in the voiceless consonant `k`, the ablative suffix will always harden from `d` to `t`. This leaves us with two simple forms to remember, based on 2-way vowel harmony: `-maktansa` and `-mektense`.

| Verb Stem | Suffix | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| yap- | -maktansa | yapmaktansa | rather than doing |
| ver- | -mektense | vermektense | rather than giving |
| git- | -mektense | gitmektense | rather than going |
| al- | -maktansa | almaktansa | rather than buying |

Let's see this in action, looking at the choices consumers and users make when shopping online.

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### Stating the Better Choice

The `-mAktAnsa` converb sets up the action you want to avoid. The rest of the sentence then provides the preferred alternative. Because of this built-in comparison, you will very frequently see this form paired with verbs like *tercih etmek* (to prefer) or adjectives describing the alternative as *daha iyi* (better) or *daha hızlı* (faster).

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Rather than (-mAktAnsa)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

Question	Answer
consumer	tüketici
physical	fiziksel
Rather than getting tired in a physical store, the consumer prefers shopping from the internet.	Tüketici, fiziksel bir mağazada yorulmaktansa internetten alışveriş yapmayı tercih ediyor.
user	kullanıcı
to log in	giriş yapmak
Every user is just logging into the system rather than shopping.	Her kullanıcı alışveriş yapmaktansa sadece sisteme giriş yapıyor.
to become a member	üye olmak
to click	tıklamak
Rather than filling out a document to become a member, you just need to click this button.	Üye olmak için belge doldurmaktansa sadece bu düğmeye tıklaman lazım.
reliable	güvenilir
website	site
to compare	karşılaştırmak
Rather than ordering immediately, it is better to compare reliable sites.	Hemen sipariş vermektense güvenilir siteleri karşılaştırmak daha iyi.
fake	sahte
Sites that sell fake products always harm the consumer.	Sahte ürünler satan siteler her zaman tüketiciye zarar veriyor.
Rather than buying a cheap and fake gift, buying nothing is better.	Ucuz ve sahte bir hediye almaktansa hiçbir şey almamak daha iyi.
to run out	tükenmek
You clicked that button yesterday, but the cheap products had suddenly sold out!	Sen dün o düğmeye tıkladın ama ucuz ürünler aniden tükenmiş!
The products are selling out quickly, let's log into the account immediately.	Ürünler çabuk tükeniyor, hemen hesaba giriş yapalım.
Rather than going to a physical store, comparing reliable sellers is faster.	Fiziksel bir mağazaya gitmektense güvenilir satıcıları karşılaştırmak daha hızlı.
New users prefer shopping as guests rather than becoming members.	Yeni kullanıcılar üye olmaktansa misafir olarak alışveriş yapmayı tercih ediyor.